Fancy Dance
by atheneblue
Summary: "At first he was only able to see her breasts in black-and-white on the monitor, and that at some distance from the camera." He was only 19, but he wasn't stupid. Prequel to the series. Rated M for later chapters. Daniel X OC het smex
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own "Helix" or its characters.

ooooOOOOoooo

"'Ten little, nine little, eight little Indians,'" Dr. Adrian sang airily when he spotted Daniel in the hallway outside the cryo lab. Daniel never laughed when the scientist made this joke (which he did more and more frequently of late), but he appreciated the humor all the same.

"'Seven little, six little, five little Indians.'"

Daniel ignored the older man and focused on winding the cord around the enormous buffer with which he had just finished waxing the floor.

"'Four little, three little, two little Indians.'" Adrian had disappeared around the corner, but he rocked back on his heel to cock a cheeky grin at Daniel before continuing into the next hallway. "'One little Indian boyyyyy'..."

_Last redskin on base_, Daniel thought heavily. The joke wasn't strictly true, because Dr. Lemieux in Oncology was half Tlingit, but Daniel was the last (and oldest) of the First Nations children still living on the Arctic Biosystems base.

It was good to be Dr. Hitake's son.

But it was hard to be alone.

Daniel trundled the buffer toward its home in a nearby utility closet and washed up in the sink. He dried his hands, then rolled down the sleeves on his workshirt and buttoned the cuffs. 11 p.m. It was time to go to his second job. His real job. He smiled to himself and unwound his earbuds from his pocket. The mp3 player was purple, two generations old, and had ridiculous fake crystals stuck all over it, but Daniel wasn't picky. One of the female scientists had left the device to Lexie upon her departure, saying that she would get a new one at Christmas. Lexie had then passed it on to Daniel the day that she left to meet her new family.

"I think our people do something like this. Give gifts when you're leaving, I mean," she had said.

"If you say so," he had muttered into her neck, his hand up her shirt for the last time. Although skinny little Rebecca had let him look at her breasts (she giggling, he so overwhelmed by the sight of actual tits that he could scarcely relish the moment), it was Lexie who had granted him two of the five senses: to look and to touch. The Inuit girl was full and fleshy; her breasts were no different.

After she left, Daniel tried to pick the crystals off the mp3 player, but each sticker left behind a tacky residue that picked up lint and dirt from his pockets. He eventually gave up on trying to rehabilitate the thing. There were no other kids left to make fun of him anyway. The player had been full of Pussycat Dolls and Spice Girls and Britney, but Daniel had replaced all that pop crap with some of his favorite rock and country tunes. He clicked around to his favorite track, a single by Audioslave from which he had derived great sustenance lately, if only for the thrumming bassline that opened it.

_And in the aching night_  
_under satellites,_  
_I was not received._  
_Built with stolen parts..._

The song helped him through the hours-a-day of custodial work, labor that Dr. Hitake had called "devotional service".

"You want to work security, Daniel. _I_ want you to work security." Hitake had tilted his head earnestly at the teenager in that way that made Daniel willing to lay down his life for the scientist.

The teen had grimaced. "I know this base better than anyone except you. I've been crawling all over it since I was a kid."

"Do you know it well enough to be my head of security?"

As he had so many times before, Daniel bore down on that moment, pulling strength from it. He had faithfully worked custodial for years, cleaning floors and toilets. Watching. Learning. His eighteenth birthday present from Hitake had been employment paperwork to join ABS Security as a Tech 1.

_And in the afterbirth_  
_on the quiet earth_  
_let the the stains remind you._  
_You thought you made a man._  
_You better think again._

Chris Cornell's powerful wail, slipping up and down the octaves just south of a caterwaul, reminded Daniel of a dream he had sometimes.

A dream?

A memory.

Something, an auditory image, that wove through his consciousness when he was in that liminal space between waking and sleeping. A snatch of song, eerie but moving, a ululating cry almost too wild to be human, a drum cutting like thunder through the paean.

Daniel knew two things about this song; he could not explain how he knew these two facts, any more than he could say where he had heard it. First, he knew that the song spoke of grief and loss, in a language that could only be Inuit. Second, he knew that his grandfather singing it.

_Nail in my head_  
_from my creator._  
_You gave me life,_  
_now show me how to live._

ooooOOOOOoooooo

A/N: "Show Me How to Live" is by Audioslave. Hope y'all want to hear more, although I've broken my cardinal rule in this first chap (too much tell, not enough show).


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own "Helix" or its characters.

The surname "Awe", as seen in this story, sounds like "AH-way".

oooOOOooo

Tuesday waved her hand in front of the access panel for her door, frowning. The door still refused to open. She tried holding her palm in place, waving up and down, then side to side. Nothing. She sighed and looked around. The hallway was empty. She blew air out of loose lips and considered knocking on her neighbor's door. Then she thought about the way that Dr. Adrian's bespectacled gaze had a tendency to creep over her curves. Further, his amorphous Eurotrash accent unsettled Tuesday. As a woman who defied ethnic and racial assumptions herself, she never felt comfortable around others whose origin she could not place.

She backtracked to her lab on Level R and made the call from there.

"I'll send someone right down, doctor," the tech assured her.

'Someone' arrived at her door only moments after Tuesday did.

"Dr. Awe?"

The young man was all hands and feet and shaggy black hair. A puppy who had yet to grow into himself. She recognized him, of course. The base was not that big a place. He mostly worked custodial, but kept the graveyard shift in the security office. He was also Hitake's adopted son.

"It's Daniel, isn't it?"

In the bright glow of the corridor, he regarded her with those incongruously-light eyes and blushed slightly. "Yes. How may I assist you, Dr. Awe?"

"Oh, it's my door." She pitched her voice sweet, almost apologetic. "I can't get it open. Could it be my chip, or...?"

"I can check your chip," Daniel assured her, nodding.

He set down his bag and withdrew a small device, which he swiped over his own hand. The scanner beeped. He reached for her hand, almost hesitantly. His fingers were hot against her own, despite the perpetual chill of the base. He scanned the meat of her palm, and she heard the beep of the device recognizing her RFID chip. She glimpsed a readout on the screen which included her name and room number.

"Looks like your chip's fine." A tiny smile, the ghost of friendliness, whispered over his lips. "Let me have a look at the access panel."

Tuesday cocked her head to watch him curiously and without interruption as Daniel traded the small scanner for something that looked like a laptop. She saw broad shoulders, too-long hair trailing over the collar of his gray shirt in the back. Daniel knelt and slid aside an access panel near the floor, then plugged in a cable that trailed from his laptop. His long fingers rapped over the keyboard to initiate some kind of diagnostic program.

"Yeah, looks like some kind of failure in the...yeah, ok, there it is," he muttered.

Tuesday leaned over him, catching a whiff of healthy sweat from Daniel's body as she did so. "Easy to fix, I hope?" she asked cheerily.

Daniel turned his head to respond, but the words died in his throat as his attention snagged on her cleavage. Tuesday had no illusions about the size of her breasts and so felt a bubble of mirth and pleasure erupt in her chest at the young man's discombobulation.

"Uh..." Daniel stammered, blushing. Gray eyes wide, he whipped his face back toward the console in front of him. "Uh, it's...I can fix it in just a second." He tapped furiously on the keyboard. An error message popped onscreen, and he cursed under his breath.

Tuesday straightened up as he continued typing. She ran her gaze over his body, noting how the lankiness of a teenager was filling out into a large man's bulk. Daniel peeked at her out of the corner of his eye, and she admired the strong chin under his smooth jawline. He turned nervously back to the laptop.

"Try it now," he demanded awkwardly after a few moments. "Please."

In no rush, Tuesday sauntered forward and waved her hand in front of the security pad. Her door swooshed open.

Daniel was packing up his gear like the devil was after him. He avoided Tuesday's gaze as he stood, bag in hand. "We apologize for the inconvenience, Dr. Awe. Please let us know if something like this happens again," he told the floor slightly to her right. His eyes were still wide with horror and humiliation. He was almost a head taller than Tuesday's usually-dominating height.

"Thank you, Daniel."

She rocked forward and brushed her lips lingeringly against the young man's cheek, touching her fingers to his broad chest. She expecting him to stagger back, stammering, and flee. Instead, he pulled his head back and met her gaze. His eyes burned like the wind whipping over the Arctic ice.

Tuesday smiled.

oooOOOooo

A/N: If you read, please review. Things are still Teenish now, but definitely heading for my (usual) Mature content soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own _Helix_ or its characters.

Lots of Daniel/Miksa in "Black Rain" this week. Yay-uss!

oooOOOooo

It was 2 a.m. when the phone rang, and he was fiddling with a microspeaker he had pulled out of the spare parts bin in Acoustics. Speaker in one hand and screwdriver in the other, he fumbled the receiver up to his ear. "Security. This is Daniel." He glanced down at the connection ID as he spoke; his name almost came out in a squeak when he saw the originating room number. His hand closed convulsively around the screwdriver handle.

"Oh, Daniel, it's you. This is Dr. Awe."

His stomach flipped over in a horrible wave of arousal laced with anxiety. Her voice was smoky and singular, and the exotic tones of her accent played havoc with the hairs on the back of Daniel's neck. "Yes," he croaked froggily, then cleared his throat and shifted in his chair, closing his eyes briefly to regain rational thought. He focused on the ridges of the screwdriver handle inside his fist. "Yes, Dr. Awe, how may I assist?"

"Well, I...it might be nothing, but I'm hearing voices out in the corridor. One man, in particular. I don't recognize him, but he's quite loud and using some fairly strong language. It's rather disturbing, frankly."

Daniel had already called up the video feed for the hallway outside Dr. Awe's room. He saw no one on the monitor. "How long ago was this, doctor?"

"Oh!" she replied with surprise. "Just now. Just before I called."

"But you're not hearing it now?"

"Not right now, no."

Daniel scrolled through the adjoining hallways in a wider and wider sweep. There wasn't a soul around at this time of night, except for two scientists working late in the hematology lab, whom he had been observing on his regular scans. "Dr. Awe, I'm afraid that I'm not seeing...well, anyone. Would you like me to come do a sweep, just to be sure?" He held his breath then, because he was not supposed to be doing sweeps. He was not even supposed to leave the security office. Though Daniel had learned how to load and fire a gun almost before he could wipe his own ass, he was not yet officially qualified either in personal combat or on stun baton. In circumstances like this, it was protocol for the Tech 1 manning the cams to call the Tech 3 on duty.

But what were the circumstances here? There was no real danger. Dr. Awe had probably heard one of her neighbors watching a movie or having an argument. All he would have to do is knock on her door and look as manly and reassuring as possible. Daniel swallowed as his id spun a web of fantasy in the back of his mind.

_Black negligee. No, _ivory_. Ivory against her mocha-colored skin, soft braids tied up in back to expose her shoulders and throat..._

"Oh, no, Daniel, that's not necessary." The doctor sighed into the phone. "I'm just being foolish, aren't I?"

He grimaced with both disappointment and relief, though more the former than the latter. "Doctor, if you feel at all threatened.."

"Daniel, I feel so ridiculous. It was probably just Adrian next door watching-"

"'Barely Legal'?" the tech suggested and immediately regretted opening his mouth. He palmed his face in embarassment.

But she just laughed. "Ah, I see you're familiar with our Dr. Adrian!" The amusement in her voice sent a ripple of warmth through Daniel's chest.

"I don't guess anyone cares about my opinion," he confessed, "but..."

"Oh, do tell!" Dr. Awe purred.

The young man laughed sheepishly. "The truth is, I think he's...well, kind of a dick."

"Yehhsss," she agreed grudgingly. "But in a bit of a sexy way, no?"

Daniel's face twisted in disgust, and he flicked the microspeaker over with his forefinger.

Dr. Awe chuckled in answer to his silence. "Perhaps not."

_Be careful. She's playing you. _He shook his head in bewilderment.

"How old are you, Daniel?" she asked, apropos of nothing.

He grabbed the screwdriver again and considered saying _twenty-one_, tapping the pad of his thumb contemplatively against the Phillips-head tip. "Nineteen," he admitted.

"Hm, I had thought older. Perhaps because you're so tall."

Daniel didn't believe her for a second, but he experienced a blush of pleasure nonetheless.

"And not done growing yet, I expect," she added. "You have such large hands and feet."

He thought about cupping those large hands around the doctor's backside, which was curvacious and firm, like the rest of her; about lifting her up until her long thighs gripped his waist.

"And you're up there alone every night?" she continued, oblivious of the direction his thoughts had taken. "That's a great deal of responsibility. Clearly Dr. Hitake has immense faith in you."

"Well, I don't work _every_ night," Daniel answered cautiously. He fought to expel any erotic images of Dr. Awe from his mind, to think clearly. He didn't understand this game.

"But always on your own?" she prodded.

His brows lowered. "Yeah. Who else wants this crummy shift?" he joked, the smile not reaching his eyes.

"I'm sure!" Her voice so warm and pleasant. "Thank you for your assistance, Daniel. And your discretion." There was a small question mark on the end of this statement.

"Of course, Dr. Awe. Anytime."

"Good night, Daniel."

"Good night, doctor." Daniel set down the receiver and pursed his lips, pushing his thumb with more pressure now against the tip of the screwdriver. With his other hand, he scrolled through the footage of the hallways around Dr. Awe's room.

Nobody. Nothing. Not even a security patrol since midnight.

He hadn't allowed the thought to surface during their conversation, but now Daniel seriously began to consider the possibility that life in the Arctic had unhinged Dr. Awe's mind.

Staring at the real-time feed of her hallway, he saw a door open. Her door. The doctor stepped out, a cardigan wrapped tightly around herself above yoga pants and slippered feet. She glanced up and down the hall.

Daniel frowned. Was she hearing the voices again?

Then her eyes locked on the security camera, and he experienced something like _deja vu_, because he knew what she was going to do even before she drew the sweater open slowly to reveal nothing but flesh. No shirt, no bra, just her bare breasts rising and falling at each respiration, her belly smooth and naked, and Daniel's only regret was that the cameras gave a black-and-white feed, so he couldn't see the exact shade of what had to be brown nipples, brown and large on breasts that were neither big nor small, but full, but _luscious_, and the doctor took a graceful step closer to the camera, a challenge in her eyes, and Daniel mashed his thumb painfully against the screwdriver's tip, remembering the helpless arousal of seeing Rebecca's tits years ago, and his desire coupled with his anger to swell his erection hard as a rock.

Then Dr. Awe smiled, tilted her head playfully, and, covering herself, returned to her room.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: So ticked about Ep 12, obvy. Team Toluk, I guess... In honor of Miksa/Daniel, may I recommend the video "Meegwun Fairbrother sings Whitefish Jrs' Missing You" on the Tube that begins with You (which video was the inspiration for Grandfather's song in chap 1).

I also struggled to decide which poem would appear in this chap, but "The Reaping" decided it for me.

And if the guy's gonna get his head blown off, let's get him laid at least. Let the Mness begin.

UPDATE: slightly edited because I originally published this chap too quickly. Premature ejaculation (in the strictly Latinate sense of the noun).

oooOOOooo

Tuesday had just begun her fifteenth iteration of the Sun Salutation when she experienced that prickle of being watched. She rolled from Cobra pose onto her hip and scanned the exercise room. Her gaze was drawn to the pair of light eyes glaring at her fiercely from the other side of the glass that comprised the room's front wall. She slithered to her feet and felt a rush of pleasure to see Daniel's jaw flex. Reaching up to tighten the colorful scarf that held her braids in place, she stepped off her yoga mat and approached the doorway. He met her there, lips pressed together in a firm line.

"_Ayyyuh!_" Tuesday drawled, mimicking her Chinese grandmother. She tilted her head and looked him up and down. "You look ready to eat me alive."

Daniel ignored her sally. He glanced at the handful of other staff members who were exercising at 9 p.m. and pitched his voice low. "We need to talk."

The doctor allowed a tiny smile to curve her lips. She indicated the sun room across the hall with her eyes. Daniel looked wary, but nodded and followed her. Turning as she opened the door to the sun room, Tuesday was pleased to find the young man's gaze fixed squarely on her backside. His eyes flicked up to meet hers guiltily.

The room was empty, as Tuesday had expected; use of the lamps was encouraged during ordinary daylight hours and discouraged at night. She stepped to one side of the doorway so that they would have fair warning if anyone entered. Daniel's beautiful eyes shone in the high-lux, full spectrum glow, and Tuesday decided that she didn't like him in gray.

"What would you like to discuss, Daniel?" she asked, trailing one finger gently down the wall beside her. She flicked her eyes toward him, then back to her moving finger.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "You realize I can't erase that footage," he ground out between clenched teeth. "I don't have the code. Only Dr. Hitake and Base One do. Blasenov, I mean," Daniel clarified, naming the Chief of Security.

Tuesday clucked her tongue. "Too bad you can't erase it." She took a step toward him and spoke even more softly: "But this means, of course, that you can watch it over and over at your leisure."

The young man looked away, the fury in his face clouded by some other emotion. Embarassment?

She clasped her hands delightedly under her chin. "You made a hard copy for yourself, didn't you?" the doctor guessed.

Daniel shifted uneasily.

"There's a rumor around the base that you have a photographic memory. Is it possible?" Tuesday took a step closer to him and placed a light hand on his wrist. "That you can simply play the footage over and over in your mind?"

"There's no such thing as photographic memory."

"No?" She drew even closer to him. "Are you sure?"

He stared down at her hand against his skin. "There are very good memories, but none that are photographic."

"Do you have a 'very good' memory, Daniel?" she murmured, gazing up at him.

Daniel took a deep breath and spoke.

"If we must die, let it not be like hogs,  
hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,  
while round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,  
making their mock at our accursed lot.  
If we must die – oh, let us nobly die,  
so that our precious blood may not be shed  
in vain; then even the monsters we defy  
shall be constrained to honor us-"

"'-though dead'," Tuesday finished. To his raised eyebrows, she responded, "We read Claude McKay in Lagos too. And that's not usually the sort of poetry a girl expects to hear from a handsome swain. But I'm impressed nonetheless."

Daniel regarded her levelly for a long moment, then cocked his chin up. "Whatever game you're playing, I'm not interested. Doctor."

"Call me 'Tuesday'," she responded mildly.

Daniel glared at her silently.

"Please?" she encouraged. Arching her back, she hooked a thumb in the waistband of her yoga pants and drew the fabric down slowly. His body slumped slightly as he eyed the smooth skin over her hipbone.

"Stop that."

"Don't look," she whispered.

His adams apple bobbed up and down. "What?" he croaked.

"If you're not interested in playing, all you have to do is ignore me. Simply. Don't. Look." Before he could react, Tuesday grasped his wrist and pulled it toward her, placing his palm against the now-bare flesh of her belly. "Your skin is always so hot, Daniel."

His chest rose and fell in something between a deep breath and a gasp. She fixed his eyes with her own and began to slide his hand down, pushing it under the waistband of her pants.

"Tuesday," he managed to beg.

"Again," she purred. "Say it again." She paused her motion, the tips of his fingers just touching the neatly-trimmed hair on her mound.

Daniel shook his head wordlessly, staring at his hand, shades lighter than the brown skin of her stomach.

"Just say it, handsome." Tuesday's words were a plea that was not echoed by her tone. She tilted her hips a fraction so that his fingers slipped a little further toward her center.

His face crumpled in a wince, but he was otherwise still.

"So obstinate." The doctor's tongue made each S a hiss against her teeth. She guided his hand down until his fingers touched her slick sex. Her gaze still pierced him as she gasped pleasurably. "I knew you would be a heartbreaker."

In the space between one breath and the next, Daniel stepped close, and his left arm shot around her waist, his hand gripping her left hip. Two fingers of his right hand plunged inside her. Tuesday's eyes widened with exhileration. She let her head fall back and moaned with pleasure. His fingers curled inside her passage as he stared down at her, his gaze wild.

And suddenly Tuesday saw the truth.

Her lips curved around her open mouth in a smile. "Oh, Daniel," she sighed. "We could take such pleasure from one another, you and I. Your first time, it would-"

The young man released her abruptly, narrowing his eyes, and stepped back.

Tuesday cocked her head, rocking back slightly. She had not been wrong, she was sure of it. It was just that stubbornness of his. She licked her lips, and he watched the subtle movement. "I could teach you so much..."

No. No, that was the wrong tack. She could see by his eyes. So obdurate, he was. He had his hand on the wall now, stumbling backward to the door.

Tuesday tamped down her frustration and blew him a kiss.


	5. Chapter 5

Soooooooo bummed about a long wait for more Helix (and the possibility of no Meegwun Fairbrother - whaaaa?).

oooOOOooo

It was actually on Dr. Hitake's schedule; Daniel had seen it once: Wednesday mornings at 7am were blocked out for "Breakfast w/ Daniel". There were some weeks where Daniel's path never crossed his adopted father's except for this time, which the young man had long referred to in his head as "family breakfast". Daniel could remember when he was younger being unable to sleep on Tuesday nights out of excitement. His head would be full of all the things to tell his father, although often, in the event, many of those thoughts and experiences would never be told, whether because there was not enough time, or because Daniel would tailor his words to mimic Hitake's expectations of him. In recent years Daniel's zest for these meetings had faded, though he still treasured that time with his father. But he grew less and less eager to share the workings of his mind with Dr. Hitake, who, it appeared, had succeeded in creating a son in his own image.

Lately, of course, Daniel did not sleep on Tuesday nights before family breakfast because he was working graveyard in the security office. He would come directly from work to meet his father in the canteen, then would head to his room afterward to crawl into bed. But on this occasion Daniel had been burning all night, like old times, afire with thoughts and questions that he could not address to anyone but Hitake. There was no one else; not anymore.

He would not tell his father the whole truth; he rarely did. But he had to talk to _someone_ about Tuesday. He couldn't bear carrying this weight on his own anymore.

After his encounter with Tuesday in the sun room, Daniel had staggered blindly toward the showers two floors above, where his duty chart placed him at that time. Where he should have been, cleaning, instead of...instead of what? What could he possibly tell his father about what had passed between him and Tuesday, about the turmoil that she inspired in him?

He had unlocked the utility room near the showers with a swipe of his hand and collapsed against the inside of the door, breathing heavily. He had stared sightlessly at the mop and bucket he should have been using even then. His right hand had crept, almost of its own accord, toward his face, and, cringing inwardly with humiliation, he had inhaled the scent of Tuesday's sex where it clung to his fingers. He had breathed in her musk again and again, eyes slipping closed, still hearing her whisper in his ear.

_I could teach you such things._

The erection which she had awakened by slipping his hand between her thighs had not subsided. Daniel had indulged himself, allowing the fantasy to unfurl as he pictured himself pounding furiously into Tuesday against the wall of the sun room, his hands supporting her strong thighs, her arms and legs locked around him. He had pictured her face as it had been moments before, head tilted back, a moan passing her lips, and his left hand had spidered toward his belt as he drew her scent even deeper into his lungs.

Then had come footsteps and voices in the hall outside, and Daniel had opened his eyes, grit his teeth, and stepped to the utility sink to wash his hands with care and deliberation, glad that there was no mirror to reflect back at him.

Now, as Daniel set his overloaded breakfast tray down on the table, one glance at his father's calm, pleasant face sent the young man into a tailspin of doubt. Aside from his emotional hesitations about discussing Tuesday Awe with Hitake, there were professional implications too. What if disclosing the situation landed Tuesday in trouble with the man who was not only Daniel's father but also her boss? Daniel sighed and decided to table the conversation for now.

Hitake was unfolding his vision for updating the base's security system, a long-term plan that included color and audio on the cameras, as well as more sophisticated perimeter sensors and updates to the satellite, when his dark eyes flicked toward a tall woman crossing toward an empty table. Tuesday Awe slid herself gracefully into a seat facing Daniel and settled herself comfortably with a light breakfast and a book. The young man was suddenly struck by the memory of watching Tuesday performing yoga, the way her limber body had folded and stretched itself, her backside curving into a delicious peak as she bent forward.

When Daniel looked back at Hitake, the older man regarded him levelly. The teenager was suddenly struck by the thought that his father could see everything that was playing through his mind at that moment: the fear and humiliation, the anger and curiosity and, most of all, the desire.

"Now, for the air ducts..." Hitake continued, as if there had been no break in their conversation. Daniel nodded gratefully, shoveling eggs into his mouth.

But as he and his father continued to talk, Daniel's gaze was drawn inexorably to Tuesday from time to time. Her almond-shaped eyes always pierced him over her book. On those occasions when he did not look away immediately, she would hold his attention further with some small gesture: adjusting her bra strap with her thumb, uncrossing and re-crossing her impossibly long legs, wrapping her plump lips around a straw to take a sip of her drink. Daniel knew that each of these movements was intentional. He kept expecting that tiny, knowing smile to curve her mouth, but it never came. Its absence concerned him far more than its presence would have.

Soon Hitake glanced at his elegant Timex and sighed in elaborate regret. The two men continued hashing out details for a security upgrade as they carried their meal trays to the return area. Daniel was staring straight ahead as they neared Tuesday's table. He lifted his now-cold coffee cup to his lips, to give himself something to do other than avoid looking at her.

"Ah, Dr. Awe," Hitake called mildly.

Taken off-guard, Daniel swallowed wrong and coughed, spluttering coffee into his forearm, almost dumping a trayful of dishes and silverware onto the floor. Tuesday's eyebrows lifted in gentle concern. Hitake rubbed the young man's back in what could have been either a digestive aid or a simple paternal touch.

"How are you faring, doctor?" the chief of research asked, when Daniel had regained control of himself.

"Very well, thank you, doctor. And you?" Tuesday's thin, soft sweater reminded Daniel of a sunset; the rich color flattered her skin tone admirably.

Hitake smiled gently in response. "May I ask what you are reading?" He inclined his head toward the book cupped in the woman's left hand.

Tuesday smiled obligingly and turned the book face-out. It was a collection of essays by Stephen Jay Gould that Daniel had read two or three years ago. His copy, like many of his books, was a hand-me-down from one of the scientists on base.

"Not really your area, is it, Dr. Awe?"

The nuclear physicist laughed. "I will grant you that my paleontology is somewhat rusty."

Before Daniel knew what he was doing, he heard himself speaking. "Gould is nothing if not an interdisciplinarian. His discussion of different uses of the word 'evolution' in astronomy versus biology? Precise _and _meaningful. Darwin himself..." He trailed off and stared wide-eyed at the two scientists. His father's face was inclined forward with interest and encouragement. Tuesday's expression, however, was far more difficult to read. Her full lips were parted in surprise and...something like lust.

"You see that my son is an avid reader, doctor," Hitake offered to cover Daniel's silence.

Tuesday's face had returned to an expression of pleasant ease. "Yes, it's clear. I don't believe I have reached that essay, Daniel, but I was just contemplating a wonderful quote that Gould gives from Chesterton. 'Art is limitation; the essence of every picture is the frame'. I was unfamiliar with that one. But I'm sure you recall it from your reading."

The young man nodded dumbly.

Hitake gave his son another shrewd look. "Forgive us for interrupting your breakfast, doctor. Enjoy your day." As the two men stepped away, the chief of research spoke _sotto voce_ to his son: "Don't be fooled by her, Daniel. She is a terrifyingly clever woman. She may be the most intelligent woman I've ever met."

Daniel looked around the canteen at the brain trust assembled by Ilaria from labs and universities around the world. He swallowed grimly.

"That is all I will say on the subject," Hitake added firmly, pinning the teen with one final look before leaving the canteen.

oooOOOooo

Don't love the way this chap came out, but couldn't stand to futz with it any more. Next chap will be more fun.

The Gould essays mentioned are from the collection I Have Landed.


	6. Chapter 6

Tuesday was so absorbed in the computer simulation she was programming that she failed to notice Daniel's presence in the lab until he stood only a few feet behind her. His light eyes were vulnerable, and a little tired. She thought to tease, "We have to stop meeting like this," but edited herself. Instead she simply patted the chair next to her. Daniel took a seat, staring at the 21 inch monitor on the desk. He seemed to be scanning the formulae and code on the screen.

_He can't possibly understand it, _Tuesday thought, then hesitated, remembering the flashes of acumen he had displayed in her presence. This time she said exactly what sprang to mind: "I want to fuck your brain."

He glanced at her, startled. "You...excuse me?"

"I want to fuck your brain," she repeated with deliberate clarity. Daniel blinked at the vulgarity. Tuesday put a thumbnail to her mouth and chewed contemplatively. "Along with various other parts of your anatomy," she added, allowing her gaze to rove over his body suggestively.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "Tuesday-" he began.

Tuesday interrupted him before he could get any farther: "I only mean that I find it very sexy how clever you are." She placed one hand on his thigh and tilted her head to observe his reaction. "Of course, you're also handsome. And tall. The trifecta, really."

Daniel blew air through loose lips, letting his gaze wander around the lab. His quadriceps was like marble under her fingers.

"Don't you want me just a little bit?" Tuesday prodded softly, admitting a slight break into her voice.

His eyes cut toward her. "Tuesday," he began again, his tone one of warning.

Preemptively, she crawled into his lap and slipped her arms around his neck. He startled and sat back slightly, spreading his hands wide, then turned his head to glance at the door.

"They shouldn't be back for at least a quarter hour," she reassured him. "My colleagues, that is. They do love their morning coffee break."

Daniel sighed, and Tuesday felt his body relax, although he still avoided her eyes. He put his arms around her and buried his face between her shoulder and throat. She inhaled his scent deeply, feeling the warmth of desire and triumph crawl through her belly. He hummed softly when she combed her fingers through his hair. "I knew they were gone," he confessed softly, his breath hot, his stubble a delicious rasp against the flesh of her throat. "And I know about how long they're usually gone for."

Her lips curved in a smile. "Cheeky! Have you been keeping tabs on me?" She nuzzled his temple. "Oh, I know you have. You couldn't stop looking at me in the canteen this morning."

"You kept doing things to attract my attention," Daniel complained. His thumb slowly stroked the curve of her hip through her tailored pants. She tilted her pelvis to press herself more firmly against his long fingers.

"I do so love the sensation of your beautiful eyes on me," Tuesday whispered confessionally. "Do you know what I was thinking when I showed my breasts to the camera? To you?" She twirled a lock of his hair around her finger.

"No," he murmured, almost inaudibly.

"I was thinking that I could practically feel your gaze on me, but, oh! I wanted to feel your hands on me. My breasts were aching for your touch."

Daniel moaned softly, moved her braids out of the way, and set his teeth against her throat as if he would bite. Tuesday waited for him to surrender, to lavish kisses on her, to beg. But, although she could feel him shaking, he made no further move. The scientist licked her lips and tried again.

"And the other day, in the sun room, you were so cruel. You left me all...wet...and swollen." She made sure to brush his ear with her lips as she spoke. "I've been losing my mind since then, remembering the way you felt inside me."

Daniel's fingers dug into her flesh painfully. His jaw was clenched so tight Tuesday feared he would crack teeth. She breathed in his scent and waited.

At last he grabbed her upper arms and pulled their bodies apart. "I came to tell you that this has to stop," he ground out, staring into her eyes. His gaze was fierce.

Tuesday's heart sank. She bit her tongue to keep her face even. "What has to stop?" she asked innocently.

"Whatever this is."

She looked down shyly, stroking a button on his shirt. "You really think we should stop?"

"Yes," he said firmly. He wrapped his fingers around her wrists like manacles and pulled her hands away from his chest.

"Then why did you let me sit in your lap?" Tuesday whispered, her lips hovering only a centimeter from his.

With a grunt, Daniel dragged her weight off of him by her forearms, dumping her unceremoniously and jarringly into her own chair. Tuesday could not prevent shock from registering on her face, but she managed to restrain her outrage. She took several deep, calming breaths as the young man jumped to his feet, avoiding her eyes. "It's done!" he grated and turned on his heel.

"Remember what I said, Daniel," she called as he stalked from the room. "If you don't want to see, just don't look."

oooOOOooo

AN: Getting closer to proper lemons!


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